1 Military Hospital offers health service to employees of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), South African Army (SAA), South African Air Force (SAAF), South African Navy (SAN), and the South African Military Health Services (SAHMS). Most of the SANDF employees who suffer Thoracic Spinal Cord Injuries (TSCI) are injured during their term of service in the SANDF. Individuals with spinal cord injury experience challenges related to work, family, finances, loss of independence and societal attitudinal barriers (Crewe&Krause, 2002). Some individuals adjust well to these challenges and are able to move forward in a functional and productive manner (Livneh&Antonak, 1997; 1994). This research investigated how certain thoracic spinal cord injured (TSCI) individuals managed to adjust to their rehabilitation process. The research focused on the contribution of positive emotions to the rehabilitation process. Positive psychology focuses attention on the sources of psychological wellness, such as positive emotions and positive experience. It also focuses on individual differences in human strengths and virtues, positive institutions and what makes life worth living (Lyubomirsky&Abbe, 2005). The current study aimed to investigate how fortigenic qualities contribute to positive rehabilitation experiences for individuals with thoracic spinal cord injury. A qualitative design using in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews was selected to explore the rehabilitation experiences of TSCI individuals. One of the basic tenets of qualitative research is the existence of multiple realities. An individual’s reality is derived from factors such as age, sex, class, ethnicity, abilities and disabilities and the way in which these factors affect life experiences (Hammersley&Atkinson, 1998). A sample of 3 respondents was selected. The respondents were members of the South African National Defence Force. The respondents were males aged between 25 and 40 years old who had been living with disability for two to three years. The TSCI individuals were interviewed to gain a better understanding of their rehabilitation experiences. The ideas that emerged from this research interview conversations were analysed through the use of an interpretive thematic analysis The findings indicate that positive emotional states facilitated positive behavioral practices such as taking initiative and adapting and coping with the challenges that come with the disability. The study demonstrated that participants’ repertoire of positive emotions acts as a remedy for negative emotions. Thus, positive emotional states were shown to influence behavioral repertoires and impact on motivation to improve the self. These factors lead to a drive to rehabilitation. Positive qualities such as gratitude, humour, optimism and resilience impacted on the ways in which the respondents created meaning about life events. This resulted in broader behavioural repertoires that led to more explorative and adaptive behaviours. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Psychology / unrestricted

Thesis (MCom)--PU for CHE, 1999.

Since the change in the political dispensation in South Africa in 1994, South Africans are under increasing pressure to accept the new, changing order as a given. The institution where the research was carried out, the South African Secret Service (SASS), has also not escaped these changes and there have been various developments which indicate that some employees are not adjusting to these changes. The purpose of this research has been to determine to what extent a relationship exists between the presence or absence of certain psychological forces in individuals and the coping strategies which they use. The psychological forces were researched and analysed from the fortigenic paradigm, which is aimed at focusing on the origin of certain forces/strengths within man that are of cardinal importance for effective functioning. In the literature study the main focus was on aspects such as coping with change, after which the coping p cess and the various coping types and strategies were addressed. An important element of the literature study consisted of the profiles of copers and non-copers, which focused on the cognitive, emotional and conative fields/areas. Three different psychological approaches, namely pathogenesis, salutogenesis and fortigenesis were addressed, with emphasis on the latter. The fortigenic approach was analysed from the perspective of a number of forces, as identified by Strümpfer. A combination of a quantitative survey design and a qualitative research design (the phenomenological method) was used, with a sample population of 50 persons from the research environment within the SASS. In the research five qualitative measuring instruments (the Locus of Control Questionnaire of Scheepers, the Life Orientation Questionnaire of Antonovsky, the Personal Views Survey of Kobasa, the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire of Sherer & Maddux and the Self-Control Scale of Rosenbaum) and a qualitative instrument (the phenomenological interview) were used to determine the presence or absence of the fortigenic forces in the respondents. The measuring instruments were applied to the whole population, after which a stanine scale was used to identify persons with low and high scores according to the fortigenic construct. An interview based on the phenomenological approach was done with five persons with low and five with high scores. According to the results of the empirical study a statistically significant difference exists between the stanine scores of the five respondents with the highest scores and the five with the lowest scores and it is possible to subject these respondents to the qualitative measuring instrument. According to the qualitative measuring instrument (interview) there is a moderate to strong relationship between the strength of the employees' fortigenic forces and their ability to cope with organisational change. Three of the five employees with low stanine scores showed a strong resemblance to the profile of a non-coper, while two of the respondents showed a moderate resemblance. All five the respondents who achieved high stanine scores showed a strong resemblance to the profile of a coper. Recommendations are made for future study. / Thesis (MCom)--PU for CHE, 1999.

Since the change in the political dispensation in South Africa in 1994, South Africans are under increasing pressure to accept the new, changing order as a given. The institution where the research was carried out, the South African Secret Service (SASS), has also not escaped these changes and there have been various developments which indicate that some employees are not adjusting to these changes. The purpose of this research has been to determine to what extent a relationship exists between the presence or absence of certain psychological forces in individuals and the coping strategies which they use. The psychological forces were researched and analysed from the fortigenic paradigm, which is aimed at focusing on the origin of certain forces/strengths within man that are of cardinal importance for effective functioning. In the literature study the main focus was on aspects such as coping with change, after which the coping p cess and the various coping types and strategies were addressed. An important element of the literature study consisted of the profiles of copers and non-copers, which focused on the cognitive, emotional and conative fields/areas. Three different psychological approaches, namely pathogenesis, salutogenesis and fortigenesis were addressed, with emphasis on the latter. The fortigenic approach was analysed from the perspective of a number of forces, as identified by Strümpfer. A combination of a quantitative survey design and a qualitative research design (the phenomenological method) was used, with a sample population of 50 persons from the research environment within the SASS. In the research five qualitative measuring instruments (the Locus of Control Questionnaire of Scheepers, the Life Orientation Questionnaire of Antonovsky, the Personal Views Survey of Kobasa, the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire of Sherer & Maddux and the Self-Control Scale of Rosenbaum) and a qualitative instrument (the phenomenological interview) were used to determine the presence or absence of the fortigenic forces in the respondents. The measuring instruments were applied to the whole population, after which a stanine scale was used to identify persons with low and high scores according to the fortigenic construct. An interview based on the phenomenological approach was done with five persons with low and five with high scores. According to the results of the empirical study a statistically significant difference exists between the stanine scores of the five respondents with the highest scores and the five with the lowest scores and it is possible to subject these respondents to the qualitative measuring instrument. According to the qualitative measuring instrument (interview) there is a moderate to strong relationship between the strength of the employees' fortigenic forces and their ability to cope with organisational change. Three of the five employees with low stanine scores showed a strong resemblance to the profile of a non-coper, while two of the respondents showed a moderate resemblance. All five the respondents who achieved high stanine scores showed a strong resemblance to the profile of a coper. Recommendations are made for future study. / Thesis (MCom)--PU for CHE, 1999.

The thesis is based on a multi disciplinary study involving both particulars regarding military history and certain psychological theories. In order to be able to discuss the psychological experiences of Boers during the guerrilla phase of the Anglo-Boer War, the first chapters of the thesis strive to provide the required background. Firstly an overview of the initial conventional phase of the war is furnished, followed by a discussion of certain psychological issues relevant to stress and methods of coping with stress. Subsequently, guerrilla warfare as a global concern is examined. A number of important events during the transitional stage, in other words, the period between conventional warfare and total guerrilla warfare, are considered followed by the regional details concerning the Boers’ plans for guerrilla warfare. These details include the ecological features, the socio-economic issues of that time and military information about the regions illustrating the dissimilarity and variety involved. In the chapters that follow the focus is concentrated on the psychological impact of the guerrilla war on the Boers. The wide range of stressors (factors inducing stress) are arranged according to certain topics: stress caused by military situations; stress caused by the loss of infrastructure in the republics; stress caused by environmental factors; stress arising from daily hardships; stress caused by anguish and finally stressors prompted by an individuals disposition. Then the psychological theories regarding an individual’s resistance resources (or general resistance resources ─ GRRs) and the means of using these resources to cope with stress are applied to the actual circumstances that the Boers were faced with. This discourse is arranged according to material resources, motivational issues and intrapersonal resources. Subsequently the complete guerrilla warfare phase is considered, the accent being placed on the psychological effect that the Boers’ strategies, as well as the British counter strategies, had on the republican forces. The phase is subdivided into four stages according to the course of the war, while still furnishing an overall account of the guerrilla phase ─ ranging from the initial successes on Boer side, the gradual decline in Boer initiatives to the final months, when the few successful encounters that the Boers launched, came too late to change matters. In the final chapter the impact of the guerrilla warfare on a selected group of Boers is examined in the form of case studies. The group includes President M.T. Steyn, whose health failed him in the end and Generals C.R. de Wet and J.C. Smuts, where their positive conduct is considered from a psychological perspective. The result of the continuous pressure on the young Commandant G.J. Scheepers is examined and the stress related experiences of Chief Field Cornet H.S. van der Walt, Burghers P.J. du Toit and R.W. Schikkerling are analysed. / Thesis (DPhil(History))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Jurisprudence / unrestricted

This study investigates whether a relationship exists between two constructs, namely sense of coherence (SOC) and organisational commitment, and their relationship with specific biographical attributes of consultants working in the enterprise resource and planning (ERP) industry. The results of the study indicate that, overall, a relationship at a significant level could not be established between the two constructs. However, some of the correlations in this study showed that a few relationships could be established at a significant level between age and tenure and some of the subscales of the two constructs. On the basis of the results of the study, recommendations could be made that apply in the ERP industry. Suggestions were also made for possible further research in other areas such as recruitment, employee development, employee reward, compensation and recognition, employee retention, succession planning, employee wellbeing and talent management. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This study investigates whether a relationship exists between two constructs, namely sense of coherence (SOC) and organisational commitment, and their relationship with specific biographical attributes of consultants working in the enterprise resource and planning (ERP) industry. The results of the study indicate that, overall, a relationship at a significant level could not be established between the two constructs. However, some of the correlations in this study showed that a few relationships could be established at a significant level between age and tenure and some of the subscales of the two constructs. On the basis of the results of the study, recommendations could be made that apply in the ERP industry. Suggestions were also made for possible further research in other areas such as recruitment, employee development, employee reward, compensation and recognition, employee retention, succession planning, employee wellbeing and talent management. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Psychotherapists in full-time, long-term private practice face a variety of occupational demands. They usually maintain private practices for long periods of their lives often under difficult circumstances and emotional pressures and have come to sustain their practices. From literature it is revealed that various demands, as well as benefits and successes are part and parcel of working in private practice full-time. These various factors can have an impact on the well-being of psychotherapists. Apart from the literature review, the personal experience of the researcher, a psychotherapist in full-time private practice, also contributed to ideas and hypotheses about the study. From a position of exploration and further enquiry, the researcher was interested to explore the experiences of psychotherapists in full-time private practice from a fortigenic perspective. A second objective was to determine if this study could contribute to the development of the theoretical assumptions of positive psychology. The research is grounded in the theoretical perspective of positive psychology and fortigenesis. Both these fields are relatively new in psychology and seem to still be forging a niche within the discipline. This perspective was deliberately chosen due to the applicability to the exploration of strengths and vigour, with regards to the maintenance of the professional context of the psychotherapist. The qualitative research process is presented in a narrative approach by means of narrative synthesis and synergy. The findings of the research conversations are presented in the form of a literary short story. Suggestions are made about the fortigenic qualities of psychotherapists essential for maintaining their work in full-time private practice. It’s applicability and usefulness is discussed. Furthermore, suggestions are made with regards to the field of positive psychology and the way forward for this sub-discipline. Ideas relating to narrative research and qualitative research are also discussed. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

The question the researcher set out to answer during this research is: How is a caring concern maintained by the (student nurse) as caregiver? It stemmed from unresolved plausible hypotheses stated during a previous qualitative study into the phenomenon caring, from media reports on the "poor care" rendered in health institutions in South Africa, and a concern about the Tylerian rationale in nursing education. The theory generation required was achieved through Wertz's Empirical Psychological Reflection and existential phenomenology. Heidegger's theory of"Care as the essence of being" constituted a central concept in this research. A linguistic epistemology and expanded definition of the term empirical were also pertinent in this research. The literature review focussed on the methodology, ontology (caring and maintenance) and epistemology, serving a purpose towards bracketing. A purposive sample of informants was extracted according to students' performance on the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI). Sixteen qualitative research interviews were conducted. Analysis was conducted through open coding, categorisation and axial coding. At the idiographic level, twelve individual psychological profiles were constructed serving the purpose of imaginative variation. At the nomothetic level four major themes emerged, namely: The Caring Phenomenon (Contextualisation); Factors Eroding a Caring Concern; Factors in the Maintenance of a Caring Concern; and Core Experiences. The dialogue among the four intra-psychic processes of Care, will, meaning attribution and conscience accounts for all events encountered in the data. This dialogue results in either reason or intuition, displaying caring and the maintenance of a caring concern. Positing will and conscience as thesis and antithesis, the resulting synthesis postulates the basic ethical concepts of autonomy, authority, responsibility and accountability as existentially inherent to being and existence, and to the maintenance of a caring concern. The final manifestation of the object ofintention, maintenance, is proposed as an anthropological model. When extended to the fields of (nursing) education, human motivation and the teaching of (nursing) ethics, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, the self-science curriculum and life-skills training become imperative to (nursing) curricula. It is also proposed that human caring be studied as a manifestation of human motivation. / Health Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (Advanced Nursing Sciences)

The question the researcher set out to answer during this research is: How is a caring concern maintained by the (student nurse) as caregiver? It stemmed from unresolved plausible hypotheses stated during a previous qualitative study into the phenomenon caring, from media reports on the "poor care" rendered in health institutions in South Africa, and a concern about the Tylerian rationale in nursing education. The theory generation required was achieved through Wertz's Empirical Psychological Reflection and existential phenomenology. Heidegger's theory of"Care as the essence of being" constituted a central concept in this research. A linguistic epistemology and expanded definition of the term empirical were also pertinent in this research. The literature review focussed on the methodology, ontology (caring and maintenance) and epistemology, serving a purpose towards bracketing. A purposive sample of informants was extracted according to students' performance on the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI). Sixteen qualitative research interviews were conducted. Analysis was conducted through open coding, categorisation and axial coding. At the idiographic level, twelve individual psychological profiles were constructed serving the purpose of imaginative variation. At the nomothetic level four major themes emerged, namely: The Caring Phenomenon (Contextualisation); Factors Eroding a Caring Concern; Factors in the Maintenance of a Caring Concern; and Core Experiences. The dialogue among the four intra-psychic processes of Care, will, meaning attribution and conscience accounts for all events encountered in the data. This dialogue results in either reason or intuition, displaying caring and the maintenance of a caring concern. Positing will and conscience as thesis and antithesis, the resulting synthesis postulates the basic ethical concepts of autonomy, authority, responsibility and accountability as existentially inherent to being and existence, and to the maintenance of a caring concern. The final manifestation of the object ofintention, maintenance, is proposed as an anthropological model. When extended to the fields of (nursing) education, human motivation and the teaching of (nursing) ethics, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, the self-science curriculum and life-skills training become imperative to (nursing) curricula. It is also proposed that human caring be studied as a manifestation of human motivation. / Health Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (Advanced Nursing Sciences)